Say Anything Blog

So, I called my Senator, Mr. Bill Nelson and asked him…  Well okay, I didn’t actually talk to him, but it was close…  Well, okay, it wasn’t even close.

I called Senator Bill Nelson’s office and the lady I spoke with was quite pleasant.  I asked her to tell me what provision of the US Constitution allowed the US Congress to create any sort of Health Care bill.  She said that she didn’t really know…  A sentiment shared by several of his staffers; but she did offer to take down my e-mail address and pass it along to the Senator with my question.  Here’s Bill Nelson’s response:

Dear Mr. Yantiss:

Thank you for contacting me about health care reform.

On October 13, I joined a bipartisan majority in the Finance Committee and voted to pass the America’s Healthy Future Act of 2009. This bill would allow those who are happy with their insurance keep what they’ve got, including veterans and seniors on Medicare. It also creates state-based exchanges where those without coverage, or those who are unhappy with what they have, can get coverage at an affordable price.

The bill also would hold insurers’ feet to the fire, requiring them to cover everyone and preventing them from dropping someone who gets sick. Additionally, it contains several measures aimed at reducing overall medical and prescription drug costs and eliminating waste and fraud in the system.

Among the improvements I added to the bill is a provision that would preserve benefits for an estimated 800,000 Medicare Advantage enrollees in Florida and another provision that would protect tax benefits for seniors who have high medical expenses.

As for a public-option, there were two similar proposals to establish a public insurance plan as part of the health care legislation. I voted for Senator Schumer’s plan because I believed it would offer help for consumers through fair competition to private insurers and stood the best chance of final passage. Unfortunately, it was defeated by the committee 13-10. Right after the vote, Senator Schumer promised he’d keep fighting to get his proposal included in the broader health care bill; he’ll have my backing.

The America’s Healthy Future Act will now go to the Senate floor, where it will be merged with another bill passed by the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee earlier this year. I am hopeful that a final bill will pass by the end of the year. Regardless of where anyone stands on the specifics, I think we all can agree that the system we have can be unfair and too costly, and needs reform. Again, I appreciate hearing from you on this important issue. Please don’t hesitate to contact me in the future.

Sincerely,
Senator Bill Nelson

P.S. From time to time, I compile electronic news briefs highlighting key issues and hot topics of particular importance to Floridians. If you’d like to receive these e-briefs, visit my Web site and sign up for them at http://billnelson.senate.gov/news/ebriefs.cfm

You might note, as I did, that the discussion of “what part of the Constitution provides the Congress the authority to do any of this”, is completely missing.  Oddly, yeah right, it fails to answer the question I posed.

Bill Nelson,  You swore to uphold the US Constitution as a VOW presumably before whatever GOD you fear.  You have failed to do so.  You should resign, NOW!  Do your VOW’s have any meaning?